Survival horror goes side-scrolling in Silver Pines

A vanished musician, a small town, and gameplay that riffs on classic survival/horror. Silver Pines gets a first-look.

The truth is out there, maybe in Silver Pines

Here’s one to keep your eye on if you’re a fan of survival/horror, the X-Files, or Hotel Dusk. According to developers Wych Elm and Team17, that’s the thinking behind Silver Pines, an upcoming horror title that’s aiming to be a mix of all of the above.

Set in a small town of the same name, Silver Pines sets players in the shoes of one Red Walker. A private investigator, Walker is on the hunt for Eddie Velvet, a musician who’s seeming vanished into thin air. But if the gumshoe thought this would be a run of the mill case, he’s sorely mistaken.

Team17 says that player will find “unsettling revelations and battling nightmarish terrors” on this foray. So yeah, better strap in.

Survival/horror, with a bit of Metroidvania

If you’re digging what you saw in the trailer above, then you might really like what Wych Elm has planned for gameplay. The stylish adventure plays out in side-scrolling fashion, yes, but it sounds like it’ll marry multiple play styles. Chief amongst those of course, is the aforementioned survival/horror.

According to the press release, Silver Pines won’t be overly generous with its ammo and supplies. The game is targeting tense confrontations, so don’t look to be drowning in ammo. For that matter, players will also have to conserve space. We said survival/horror alright, and as fans know, another element to that is inventory management.

Fit in with that too, is a Metroidvania style. Also as laid out in the press release, Silver Pines will present “locked doors and hidden paths”. As you might imagine, players will have to find their way around those, plus as “you find better tools and weapons, more of the town will become accessible”. You get the picture.

Bringing it back around to the beginning, all of the above will be set against the overall theme of investigation. Players will have to explore, sniff out clues, and uncover secrets as they piece together what happened to Eddie Velvet. Oh, and did we mention that the town is abandoned? That should ad to the creep-factor nicely.

If you’re looking to crack the game’s supernatural mystery, stay tuned. There’s no release date just yet, but Silver Pines will head to the Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC (via Epic) this summer.